What's the easiest way to find out the IP address of your important sites, such as bank URLs?

I've just downloaded ip-check from the Firefox addons but not yet tested it.

IP Address and Domain Information is another Firefox addon the seems to do the same job but with a lot more information. The author requests a $5 donation. Not tested.

Edit: The ip-check puts another button in your Firefox toolbar, no reboot needed. When pressed it shows you the IP address of your current website. If you click on the IP address shown it redirects to domaintools.com which gives you the whois look-up information for that IP address. ip-check seems simple and adequate.

If you enter the IP address directly, does that bypass the DNS server lookup?

Kurtis from Horizon Data Sys. While I respect your wanting to educate people, we are still evaluating the SSD issue. As it stands now, you can install RollBack Rx on an SSD, it's the Trim function that may cause an issue. Even then, it's not conclusive either way.

Kurtis from Horizon Data Sys. Generally the snapshots should take up 10% of your hard drive. With the Home Edition I may even estimate that it could be less than that. It's not quite an image file. First snapshot (Installation) is your base snapshot, that's your entire system. Every snapshot afterwards is being measured by changes. So if all you do is add a notepad document or two it would be pretty small, but running disk derangement and uninstalling a lot of programs would be substantial change.

It shouldn't slow down your PC, if it ever does you could submit a ticket with us and our Tech's can look into it and see what we can do to speed things up :)

Kurtis from Horizon Data Sys. It's not quite imaging software. It doesn't create an image file. It's unique in that it takes a snapshot of your system and stores it on the sector level of the C: drive. So you would still want to use a disk imager.

Kurtis from Horizon Data Sys here.Your largest snapshot will always be your installation snapshot, as it's capturing the whole system into that snapshot. When you create a different snapshot, it will vary in size depending on the changes made to the computer. Some snapshots will inevitably be bigger as they are post-disk defragmenting.

I've spent a whole day to test the programs listed in this article and removed quite many due to various reasons. Some were bundled with adware, some were not powerful enough nowadays (less profiles, less supported formats, etc.), some were slow or of large sizes, and so on. Hope you'll like my hard work. :p

This Stellar Phoenix BKF Recovery is a proficient utility which can repair the backup files corrupt or damaged due to any condition. It can also repair ZIP files and default BKF files in Windows Vista, 7 and 8. You can get all the data back from damaged or inaccessible files. To know more about this tool and to download its free demo version, you can visit: mannatsoftware.com/stellar phoenix-bkf-recovery

Another free flowchart program that has more features than yEd is Lucidchart (https://www.lucidchart.com/). Like yEd, Lucidchart is full-featured and simple to use, but it also offers collaborative features and an extensive shape library, and it doesn't require a download.

Then i save them so that i can compare when i think i might be under attack.

Entering the IP address directly in the browser address bar does bypass DNS, however i've tried it and found it not practical. For example, many sites i tried, when they detect they've been accessed via ip, immediately redirect to their name. And often links on that site--even to the same site--go thru the name.

However google works. nslookup google.com is giving me right now 173.194.123.1 among other IP addresses, and that works fine via just IP. I often try this when things aren't working right to help diagnose the problem.

BTW anyone using the Surespot app, the Feds have probably compromised it.

"Patrick G. Eddington writes in a Christian Science Monitor op-ed about indications that the government may be snooping on users of Surespot, a free and open source encrypted messaging app for Android and iOS."

Have a concern about Media Monkey. There eSupport seems lacking, and no call-in help. I wrote them this ticket:

I am so tired of trying to stop WMP from using it's low-level media info metadata database. I like independence for album art, times (they differ on same titles of say "Bare Trees - Japan and Warner issues as well s many others where you duplicate songs. For The Beatles, I have all Mono and Stereo from 2009 UK masters, and 2014 combo set, and US Capital Albums. It's a repetitive nightmare to stop WMP from doing what its metadata link is for updates. I know (I think) all the tricks to try and stop this, but if you ever select "Update album info" by accident - lookout - it's a poop-storm!

Also the consistent info between the Windows System Music folder and what WMP shows is another "pain in the 'arse' ")

So what I want is a reliable metadata database, kept current with various CD's (like the Beatles example above), and a way to stop global updating of my music data files and the media player.

Also the digital info needs to be reliable as I want it displayed in some stand-alone media player like the Sony HAPZ1ES 1TB Hi-Res Music Player System (i have not done any price vs performance analysis of a digital system yet - any suggestions (links) would be appreciated. At 62, and 40 years of collecting, I am done with vinyl analog vs digital game (and "whose ears" is the real bottom-line ).

I am willing to pay for a competent, easy-to-use media player (just for music if possible) support. MS Windows support SUCKS!!!

Is there a call-in to assist me with your product (in the US?) and my needs above?

Thank you as a first time respondent.

Jim

***END of ticket***

The response I got was basically DL the free version. But even that is better than MS WMP 12 support.

Given what I stated in my message to Media Monkey, can someone please give a short compare to MM and Musicbee (or any other listed). I am technical so depth of setup is not important. Though I would prefer not to have any coding interface work. If I could change the media metadata database WMP uses, and stop the its attempt to constantly update, I'd probably keep it.

I basically started to use WMP because it was part of Windows, & was the original method I used to backup all my CD's in loseless format (.WAV) in the system Music Data file folders. But then sorta got use to streaming, so why not a player/burner

So, a media player to; 1) keep the artwork I select, 2) update only when I ask for each WMP music file, 3) A decent eSupport (or phone too), 4) be able to migrate & operate the same under Windows 10 as it does on 7. Operating stats are good as well. WMP uses ~ 7.4MB - MM twice that, so I hope MM is coded more everyday user-friendly - especially being a cost product.

DigiDNA, the makers of DiskAid, have changed their URL to https://imazing.com/diskaid to hawk their new commercial product. And i can't find any other URL for the free DiskAid itself except an entry on their download page: https://imazing.com/download;

They do have a support/FAQ for the free DiskAid here: http://support.digidna.net/hc/en-us/categories/200191703-DiskAid

I apologize because I was wrong about the selection tools in the free version of Zoner. The lasso, marquee and magic wand are only available in the paid version. So your best choice to have custom selections made is WildBit Viewer, which is a very good program. Sorry about the mistake.

I concur, this appears to be an imaging program through a different set of glasses. I will stick with Macrium Reflect for imaging (which has a free version and drive mounting), Windows 8.1 System Restore and File History. I also use FreeFileSync portable between computers (as yet another backup). Might I add, Macrium Reflect has been solid and reliable on Win XP, 7 and 8.1; and I have no doubt will run fine on 10.

It's not clear exactly what these snapshots consist of, and how large they are.

I use RegBak to automatically back up my registry every morning. 95% percent of the time when something 'weird' happens, restoring the registry will fix it. For the other 5%, I've got disk images, and daily backups of important files I'm working on.

You would think that security suites would be configured by default to detect DNS hijacks and provide an alert but apparently that is not the case. I normally use http://www.whatsmyip.org/ if I have questions about my server but the F-Secure Router Checker is a quick and useful tool worth adding to my bookmarks.

Well, perhaps the most IrfanView-like is a program called Imagine. Fast and simple, though not as feature-rich as Irfan, but the feel is quite similar in my experience. It has no selection tools either, as far as I can remember.

Many of the apps in my review have at least a marquee tool to make a rectangular selection and apply changes to it, but if you need something similar to Photoshop, the choice is clearly Zoner Photo Studio. It sports a marquee tool, a lasso tool and a magic wand. WildBit Viewer has a couple of these as well.

I have my beefs with Irfanview [maker has blind spots re selection tools and video support] but it's best of all i've tried].
But i've not tried as many as you [you have a high pain threshold sir!].
My question: what would you say is the most Irfanview-like of all those you've tried???

QUESTION #2: When i tweak d/l'ed pix i often see staircasing from the makers edits [or other previous users?]. This suggests to my powerful mind that i'm not the only one who is frustrated by the inability of photo editors to do freeform selections [short of PhotoShops magic wand].
WHAT FREEWARE IMAGE EDITOR INCLUDES THIS VITAL TOOL? [or least includes an EASILY USABLE rotate tool?]

BulcBurners are free, disposable, single-use email addresses. They're automatically-generated, authenticated through the forwarding address, last for a week (or after first use), and protect your anonymity: https://www.bulc.club/burner

This _seriously_ needs an update. Archivers like IZArc/B1 are filled with garbage like OpenCandy and bundled software (not to mention, they have a ridiculous memory footprint), and it's criminal that Bandizip/FreeArc aren't mentioned.

"... OpenRA is a Libre/Free Real Time Strategy project that recreates the classic Command & Conquer titles. We include recreations of C&C (Tiberian Dawn), C&C: Red Alert, and Dune 2000. These are not intended to be perfect copies, but instead combine the classic gameplay of the originals with modern improvements such as unit veterancy and the fog of war ...":

"... Toggl Desktop is a small desktop application that will help you track time more conveniently. It sits quietly in your system tray and when you need it (to start/stop/edit your work), it’s quickly accessible. It does what it’s designed to do best – tracks time ...":http://support.toggl.com/toggl-on-my-desktop/

"... Hocus Focus automatically hides application windows that have been inactive for a certain period of time, leaving only the applications you’re using visible. It’s a great way to keep your screens clutter free and your mind focused on the task at hand ...":

Desperate Gods is a free online board game that was designed to be played just like a board game in real-life: no rules are enforced by the computer, and all moves are performed in a shared physical space. The game itself is a cross between Monopoly and Diablo, a dark fantasy dungeon crawl for up to four players:

Thank you for the answer. Did not see it (your answer). Will test it later when I am back to Windows. Or do you by any chance know if it works for galleries? Or will it only download the thumbnails instead of the whole pictures (that's the reason for me for using batch download.

I have had a most unfortunate experience with this product. There was not enough space on the drive for a snapshot and the drive was corrupted. CHKDSK was triggered and tried valiantly to recover. On reboot after recovery I got the blue screen of death. Fortunately I had a recent image back up. I would recommend caution using this product if your don't have some such backup.

The main problem with performance tools is that the developer always assumes the user has the knowledge of a computer technician. There is rarely an explanation (in simple layman terms) for what all the data represents. Graphs no matter how attractive are really of little value unless there are benchmarks to use as a point of reference.

".. Anxiety is a super-lightweight To-do list application for Mac OS X Leopard that synchronizes with iCal and Mail. Its aim is to provide a streamlined, easily accessible interface to add and check off your tasks, while remaining poised to melt into the background at a moments notice ...":

"... darktable is an open source photography workflow application and RAW developer. A virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers. It manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable lighttable and enables you to develop raw images and enhance them ...":

"... SiteSucker is a Macintosh application that automatically downloads Web sites from the Internet. It does this by asynchronously copying the site's Web pages, images, backgrounds, movies, and other files to your local hard drive, duplicating the site's directory structure. Just enter a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), press return, and SiteSucker can download an entire Web site ...":

"... Enigma is a puzzle game inspired by Oxyd on the Atari ST and Rock'n'Roll on the Amiga. The object of the game is to find uncover pairs of identically colored Oxyd stones. Simple? Yes. Easy? Certainly not! Hidden traps, vast mazes, laser beams, and, most of all, countless hairy puzzles usually block your direct way to the Oxyd stones ...":http://www.nongnu.org/enigma/

"... BetterTouchTool is a great, feature packed FREE app that allows you to configure many gestures for your Magic Mouse, Macbook Trackpad and Magic Trackpad. It also allows you to configure actions for keyboard shortcuts, normal mice and the Apple Remote ...":

"... X Lossless Decoder(XLD) is a tool for Mac OS X that is able to decode/convert/play various 'lossless' audio files. The supported audio files can be split into some tracks with cue sheet when decoding ...":

"... LineIn is a simple application for OS X to enable the soft playthru of audio from input devices. In simpler terms, you can use LineIn to play sound coming in through a microphone or any other device plugged in to your Sound In port, just as was once available with OS 9's "Play input through output device" option ...":

although all of these are nice, do any of these have side by side comparison reporting? for example, TreeSize Professional will let you save data to XML, then come the next time you run it, scan again then save that report then have a "Compare" option to show how the sizes have changed since last report. If there are any free program that have that feature, you have my thanks 10fold.

I was told by a tech that if you are going to do the shut down and restart, after you shut your computer down, unplug it and hit the power switch a few times to discharge it. Then you can plug it back in and do the restart.

"... nvALT is a fork of the original Notational Velocity by Brett Terpstra and ElasticThreads (David Halter) with some additional features (MultiMarkdown preview and source views, public note sharing, customizable colors…) and some interface modifications (bookmarks HUD, fullscreen view and more) ...":

"... Compose is a tool for defining and running complex applications with Docker. With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running ...":

@ garydavid711
Bullzip virtual/prints most of the time, granted ... but I have tested (free) CutePDF twice and it was a disaster.
- (free) cutePDF print/write performance was identical to (free) Bullzip

Unless "Acro Software" have changed their policy in the last 4 months this has been my experience with cutePDF ...

Had to manually uninstall with (free) Revouninstaller, (free) CCleaner failed to find any registry entries
- I found 29 entries (searched for "cutePDF" and "cutepdfw", and "Acro Software"
( manual cleaning of the registry is not for the feint hearted NOR should it be done with registry cleaners
- (free) Everything.exe found 3 driver-files in C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\w32x86\
CONCLUSION:
- for (writing) virtual printing to PDF I use a number of free PDF programs, they all have their quirks ... a case of suck-it-and see with each virtual print job.
- use a virtual drive or a sandbox to test any program and if there are problems, its easy to dump the crap.

** This Gizmo article is about PDF writer/virtual-printers only (it is not about PDF viewers)

the Kana Reminder is very basic but also very simple to use. it has worked well for me for a long time. the only thing it does not have which i would want is the ability to save past reminders. it gives you the alert then when you ok it, it stops beeping and closes, losing the reason for the alert. easy enough to work around. some others just get too complicated, which is not bad, just different.

Good morning you all.
I was using utorrent for quite a few years.
Very good. No complaints.
Evetually, the font size became too small for my eyesight.
So I switched to the top rated, Tixati, which has the option of changing font size.
Just for your information, all you good people.

I rarely encrypt individual files, but I use 7-zip when I do. Tresorit (Best Free Encryption Utility for Cloud Storage) is the encryption tool I usually use (does not encrypt the original files in your local storage though). Tresorit now offers encrypted links for sharing/accessing individual files from the cloud. I also still use TrueCrypt for encrypted volumes (it seems to me to still present a resonable risk of compromise).

I had another look at the site. Everything except the demonstration costs money. I do hope that this isn't the way that Gizmo's excellent site is headed - only the try out is free and even for that you have to give them your details (which they will sell). Bit disappointed in this. But it is rare I am disappointed by anything on this site, so np.

I couldn't agree more. Sadly, when these sites keep hiding behind a wall like this, it's frequently because they spent way too much time trying to monetize and way too little time on useability. I have nothing against making a buck, but authors / site owners need to get priorities straight. I won't be giving it a try either.

Thanks for your response. I'm happy to know that the instructions are the same for Windows 7, but in that case it would have been easy and helpful to make that clear in the article, rather than mentioning only Windows 8.

So I signed up with a temp. email. 4th step is 'search for your favorite fruit'. All the ones I searched for cost $1. There wasn't a free one. Then eventually I finished the design and got the same error as you, Bernardz. I tried again, searched for palm tree (no free ones), searched for mango (no free ones) etc etc. Then get to the end and its "Whoops!" I am sure the site worked great with lots of freebies for Gizmo, but sadly not for me.

Can't even browse the site with connecting it to your Facebook acct. ie. giving them all your personal details. That's not free, that's giving them access to a lot of data they will no doubt sell. The alternative is to create an account. The only way to delete an account is to write to them and request it. Ridiculous. Anyone signing up should do so with a temporary account. I hate sites like this that won't even let you look at them without signing up.

Apparently this is a 'Yes, BUT ....' program with hidden catches to it ... I'll list it here: BUT with a few caveats.

First thing upon launch: "Phocus wants to access my contacts.". Well. I cannot think of a legitimate purpose that a big camera company (that only has very wealthy clients) would want the name/address/number/department/ETC of everyone I know (presumably all of their wealthy clients never think twice and freely share this information?) - but I can think of several purposes they might use this information for that I might be unhappy about at a later time.

So, NO: they do not get permission from the system to access my contacts - denied!

Now, there are legitimate reasons a program might want to call home: to check for a newer version of itself is the common usage. But a good developer always warns you, with a prompt or two ... something to the effect of "AnyAPP would like to check for updates. (You must be connected to the internet to continue.)" {CANCEL} { OK } before it snatches at your internet connection, and sometimes the part in parenthesis is in a separate notifier box with {CONTINUE} instead of { OK }.

Having already tried to grab up all my contacts personal information: NOW Phocus will try to transmit information through my internet connection without me noticing it - until it is too late. What say you 'Little Snitch'? DENIED!!!!! Do NOT let Phocus call home, I said.

Now Phocus insists I register it - with my Hasselblad camera serial number, and a whole long user profile - 'for support purposes' (marketing support ... I'll bet): good thing there is a {LATER} Button: or I'd have quit checking this software out and given a failing grade to it right then. It will nag you regularly to register it, you bet!

Finally I get to the Welcome dialog. I checked the program out. It is "Adobe Photoshop" complicated in there: just the way I like it. Seems like well written code - just that it acts snoopy without permission. IF you trust Hasselblad will not snoop through your computer for data: go ahead and install this "Free Download" program.

I just checked. It is exactly the same in Windows 7 so there is no need to provide a seperate link.. Go to start and type perfmon in the search bar. Click on perfmon to open the Performance Monitor program. Then follow the instructions as stated above.